About

About this blog
This blog contains my musings on language and linguistics. I write about the meanings and origins of words and phrases; language learning techniques; language courses and other learning resources; languages and cultures, and anything else that interests me, from a linguistic perspective.

Who am I?
My name is Simon Ager, I live in Bangor in North Wales and earn a living from my website, Omniglot.com. I’ve studied some languages (French, German, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Welsh and Irish) in some depth, and quite few others to varying degrees. I’ve also studied linguistics, and am generally fascinated by language.

Omniglot (‘ɒmnɪˌglɒt) noun
1. having a command of all languages
2. written in, composed of, or containing all languages
3. a person with a command of all languages
4. a book containing several versions of the same text written in all languages
5. a mixture or confusion of languages
[from Latin omnis (all) + Greek γλωσσα (glossa) – tongue/language]Adapted from the definition of polyglot in Collins English Dictionary

Guest posts
I welcome guests posts from people who blog about languages and related topics, and will also consider publishing language-related articles in the articles section of Omniglot.

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4 Responses to About

I have tauaght ESL to many Guatemalans who attest to the fact that those who speak indiginous languages like Quiche and Kaqchiquel learn English very rapidly. Also as Spanish medical interpreter when chaatting with patients they also attest to this phenomenon even among their family members related by marriage. One Guatemalan lawyer noticed this and said English does not enter for him, pointing to his ear.
My investigation into Quiche phonemes showed vowels that exist there and are absent in Spanish and the glottal stop might make new words easily remembered whereas Spanish is weak in vowel sounds. Particularly the rounded vowel of bird and Thursday is a challenge to Spanish speakers but exists in the Mayan languages.
However, I wonder if there is a noticeable advantage of being bilingual to learning a third language?
Is it the development of cerebral wiring between areas of the brain that makes it possible. Are Belgian bilinguals in French and Flemish fast learners of other languages? Do Swiss bilinguals of German and French learn other nonrelated languages rapidly?
Any anecdotes or neurolgical studies?

Is it the development of cerebral wiring between areas of the brain that makes it possible. Are Belgian bilinguals in French and Flemish fast learners of other languages? Do Swiss bilinguals of German and French learn other nonrelated languages rapidly?
Any anecdotes or neurolgical studies?